Australian car designers rock Motown at North American International Auto Show

Australian car designers are a hit in motor city.

An Australian trio have rocketed to the top of the charts in Motown this week.

None of them can play a musical note but, instead, showcase the talent ? and the future ? of our local automotive design industry as three of the headline-grabbing star cars revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday have been designed by Australians.

Holden's design studio in Port Melbourne, led by Richard Ferlazzo and under the guidance of Mike Simcoe, was responsible for both the design and construction of two of General Motors' most important debutants, the Buick Avenir limousine and the Chevrolet Bolt electric city car.

Over at arch rival Ford, the creation of its stunning GT supercar was overseen in the US by Tasmanian Todd Willing, who was commissioned to design the top-secret supercar project before returning to Australia as the head of Ford's Asia-Pacific design studio in Broadmeadows.

It is the first time Australian designers have played such a significant role on the world stage, and showcases the transition of the local automotive industry as a centre of excellence for engineering and design capabilities after the endof local manufacturing by late 2017.

All three vehicles have received high praise from critics and industry experts and have cemented Australia's reputation for quality workmanship.

"I can't say enough positive about the work the team in Australia did on that vehicle," General Motors global head of design Ed Welburn told Fairfax Media when the Buick Avenir was revealed at an invitation-only preview on the eve of the show.

"It was phenomenal from the beginning. I was impressed how the team that has been doing Holdens for decades could do such a spirited, romantic Buick.

"It really is a great team."

That sentiment was echoed by GM North American president ? and former managing director of Holden ? Alan Batey, who whipped the covers off the Chevrolet Bolt on Monday.

"They just do great work . . . They always exceed everyone's expectations," he said.

"We've got a lot of capability down there and a lot of experience and we're going to leverage it and use it and that isn't going to change . . . Holden will play a key role in our future design work."

Holden design director Richard Ferlazzo was joined by six colleagues from Melbourne in Detroit for the unveiling of the Avenir and the Bolt.

"I'm more than stoked we have two cars at the same show at the same time," he told Australian media on the Detroit motor show floor.

"It doesn't get any better than this. And the two book ends, we're not just concentrating on one thing only. We're looking at highly efficient electric vehicles and a luxury limousine for Buick. It shows the breadth [of Holden design] and that's what's most gratifying."

Holden employs about 140 designers at its Melbourne studio to work on three key areas: advanced design for GM in general, as well as future production cars and concept cars like the Buick.

Todd Willing, by comparison, managed a team of just six designers under a shroud of secrecy to create the mid-engined Ford GT in a secret location. He was reportedly not permitted to tell his family or friends what he was working on for more than 14 months.

He has since returned to Australia to lead Ford's Asia-Pacific design studio, which has ? like Holden ? been commissioned to oversee several global products.

With Andrew Maclean

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